The Economic Development Department is guided by the Community Strategic Economic Development Plan 2020-2025.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

LRRCN is a sovereign Nation lead by Chief and Council to live in harmony with the Creator and all creation, maintain our language, traditions and cultural values.
The Little Red River Cree Nation (LRRCN) Community Strategic Economic Development Plan (CSEDP) is a holistic approach to the Nation’s economic development efforts with importance placed on maintaining our language, traditions, cultural values and our sovereignty. Guided by the Seven Sacred Teachings of Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility, and Truth, our spiritual beliefs and moral values, every resource the Creator has bestowed us will be utilized to empower our people in the implementation of the CSEDP.

The strategy is focused on maintenance and growth of existing sustainable, profitable economic development initiatives and the development of new economic development initiatives that have significant strategic value for LRRCN.

PURPOSE

Our strategy has been developed as a proactive, long-term thinking approach to economic development, specifically to:

  • Set a vision for the future and a specific goal to strive towards
  • Develop fixed, long-term guidelines
  • Identify shorter term strategic priorities/concerns
  • Organize & align efforts
  • Establish Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Time sensitive objectives
  • Build an assessment tool/measuring stick to monitor and evaluate

GOAL – WHAT WE ARE STRIVING TO ACHIEVE

A self-sufficient Nation with independent and healthy members is the vision that drives efforts towards reaching the goal to create sustainable economic benefit for the LRRCN community and its members by creating and growing profitable enterprise.

Growing both the revenues and profits of LRRCN’s band owned businesses – as well as businesses owned by individual LRRCN members/entrepreneurs – will enable the Nation to progress towards realizing this goal. The CSEDP:

  1. Is focused on leveraging long term economic benefits, creating further economic opportunity and expanding the impact of existing LRRCN initiatives.
  2. Will contribute to building the economic development capacity of LRRCN;
  3. Has been developed to ensure that results can be measured and evaluated;
  4. Builds on related past economic development initiatives successfully completed in the community.

LONGER TERM GUIDELINES

The following broad, long term, fixed guidelines for decision making have been set to work within in striving to realize LRRCN’s economic development strategic vision and goal:

  • Strengthen LRRCN culture & sovereignty
  • Respect the environment (land & all natural resources)
  • Achieve long-term growth

SHORT TERM PRIORITIES

LRRCN economic development initiatives must support one or more of the following shorter term measurable priorities:

  • Training & skills development leading to employment opportunities;
  • Employment opportunities for both on & off reserve Nation members;
  • Increasing community income: expansion of existing & stimulation of new business (band & member-owned) and reducing dependence (band & individual members);
  • Reducing economic leakage.

ANTICIPATED RESULTS & BENEFITS

The ongoing implementation of this strategic plan is forecasted to result in:

  • Focused direction on activities that “fit” with the priority needs of LRRCN membership;
  • Focused efforts toward the achievement of measurable, achievable objectives;
  • Investment of finite resources on priority issues/initiatives;
  • Provide a basis for the solicitation of funding assistance from government & industry;
  • Better communication, creating awareness of LRRCN as a key contributor to the local and regional economy.
  • Benefits anticipated to result from the implementation of this plan include, but are not restricted to the following:
  • Increased community economic capacity;
  • Increased employment of community members;
  • Greater utilization and value of community land and resources;
  • Increased contracts, sales and profits for both community-owned and individual entrepreneur owned businesses;
  • Increased community government revenues from economic development;
  • Development of economic infrastructure;
  • Additional investments in the community.

STAFF CONTACT INFO

Theresa Shelton
Economic Development Officer
Email: theresa@lrrcn.ab.ca
Phone: 780.926.5725, Ext 4110